The "Pronghorn" straps are actually made by Voile Equipment (check them here: VOILE STRAPS) and are hands down the best type of strap ever made for motorcycling. They have been around for years and are crucial for a minimalist to secure his gear well enough to pound whoops. The Giant Loop is a 'johny come lately' but is the only type of commercially made gear retention system that minimalists endorse.

I have two friends now that are running Giant Loops. I believe they have the Coyote model. The only downfall I've seen is that it allows them to bring too much stuff. The longevity of the large zipper is a bit of a concern but time will tell. All in all, they got a good system going.

We hop on the bikes and start riding early quickly finding more obscure routes well off the beaten path.We were climbing up into the Rattlesnake Hills I believe, northwest of Pathfinder Reservoir.There is almost as much cattle fencing in Wyoming as there are two tracks.We were loving the views from up here.When I come across stuff like this, I always wonder what the story was as to how it wound up out there.Back down into the basin for some high speed buttery two tracks!We were hitting a number of easy creek crossings. No recent heavy rains but we knew there were going to be a couple of bigger rivers to fjord ahead. We were looking forward to it.Just gorgeous territory!!Oops!! I ran out of gas. This didn’t seem right as I rarely run out of fuel. That ain’t Budweiser I’m dumping in there by the way.I started off my journey from Michigan knowing I had a weak battery that was on it’s last legs. I just wasn’t able to replace it before heading out. So, I ran it dead trying to get the bike started again. Another downfall of the Super Enduro is it doesn’t have a kick starter. We towed the bike to bump start it.

Wyoming sure has its remoteness for sure. Looks like you are having great weather too. Thanks for the great ride, looking forward to more!

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The best executive is one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done and self restraint enough to keep from meddling with them while they do it. Theodore Roosevelt

We wound up in Jeffrey City by chance, just as we end up in most places. Blurry had fueled up in Rawlins and I in Medicine Bow. We were heading for the Wind Rivers Range and it didn't think we had enough fuel (obviously) to make it to Riverton or Lander. It turns out it did no good to go to Jeffrey City because the five gas stations that were there at one time were all closed.This place seemed desperate. Strange vibe.At that point, out of the only establishment open in the town, the bar, steps out little Brooke. Out of what seemed like a hopeless town came this amazing little shining star that was so bright that she gave me hope for the place. She was so welcoming to us it took me off guard. She hardly weighed enough to hold the door open but kept offering her hospitality. She was very talkative. I thought, 'how can such a harsh environment produce such a wonderful little girl?'Then she lays it on us: ‘why do you guys ride those things?’ Having picked up on her intelligence, I could only think she was referring to the Super Enduro rather than motorcycles in general. We had no good answer. At that time, the three of us became aware of what idiots Blurry and I are.Brooke was at the age of pure innocence and I truly wish her the best for what’s ahead for her.While we were talking with Brooke, another guy came by and said he had a little gasoline he could spare to get us down the 20 mile stretch to where there was gas. He wouldn’t take any money either. Perfect. Another ‘in your face’ reminder of how to treat people.Turns out that I only put in about 5.6 gallons of fuel which means there was almost three gallons still left?!?! The orange aftermarket Safari tanks are very difficult to judge how much fuel is in them. For long rides I have an orange 6.6 Acerbis tank for my 520 which you can see the fuel level through. No dice with the Safari tank. For the Super Enduro, I suggest the white Safari tank like Blurry has so you can see the fuel line. It appeared that I had a minor fuel pump issue as the fuel wasn’t getting pumped into the carbs after the fuel in the tank had gotten lower than the carbs. The bike will run fine with no fuel pump as long as the fuel level is higher than the carbs. Nonetheless, we were back to opening gates in no time!!Another inconsequential creek crossing.A few words on river crossings.We love crossing rivers on motorcycles. Why is that? I suppose it’s because there’s a chance that you won’t make it and most males seek that unknown and always want to challenge it. During day rides in southern Utah, we often will do what some of our friends refer to as an ‘unnecessary river crossing’. Actually, it is necessary for training purposes. Plus, we like to see people sweat a bit as they attempt a crossing that might not go just right. A bunch of our bros hate it when we stop at a river and one of us walks it. If we’re walking it, that means we’re concerned we might not make it but we're going to attempt it. Yep, we’ve drowned numerous bikes. Hydro-locked the cylinder by sucking water through the intake as well as filling a crankcase full of dirty river water. Bikes and riders have been completely submerged after getting pitched off something you can't see in the murky water. A soaked air cleaner is not uncommon as well as spark plug wiring becoming too wet to fire. Pulling the drain plug on the float bowl to let water out is another common occurrence. We’ve learned the hard way how to bring a bike back to life under all these conditions. We’ve learned how to judge whether to hit the crossing full speed perhaps landing in the river after jumping off the bank or to just putt across slow in first gear. Better make sure to grease your wheel bearings and shock linkage after riding with us. In my opinion, practicing 'unnecessary river crossings' pays off time and again.So, the point of this rambling is that I think the LC8 in the Super Enduro may be the ultimate engine ever designed for river crossings. The reason being is the placement of the carburetors so high above the cylinders and pointing upward. The stock airbox (not shown in the photo) that actually covers both carbs is an exceptional splash guard as well. The wiring is tucked up high where it may not become as soaked as other bikes. The deepest river I have crossed so far with the Super Enduro didn’t even come close to pushing it’s limits and was around 2.5 feet deep. I’m looking forward to experiencing how this bike does with more challenging crossings.

All of a sudden, the vast plains we had been riding through abruptly stopped at about a 1000 foot relief.

We found a route switch backing down.

This is what it’s all about out here.

The two tracks criss cross in a crazy pattern out here. Finally, after working through the maze we were on the last stretch into Lander.

A quick stop for food, gas and beer.

We climbed into the Wind River Range looking for a campsite for the night.

Of course we’d have to descend a really rocky trail that dead ended, only to climb back up it.

We found another route that was more well traveled and started down it.

We hit the bottom and find a perfect campsite right on the creek.

As I stated earlier, stoves are frowned upon by minimalists. A metal cup and what we refer to as the ‘adjust-a-fork’ are all that is needed.

I somehow didn’t have an adjust-a-fork along with me in Michigan so I quickly came up with something else that I deemed the ‘meat rod’. A single metal rod for cooking meat. More minimal than a fork!! I thought it was brilliant. Turns out, the adjust-a-fork is superior. meat just spins on the single rod making it impossible to turn over. Oh well.

I totally love sleeping out under the stars!! It is so refreshing. No tent to hassle with packing and unpacking. We woke up well rested and had our croffee.We decided that we wanted to get up near the headwaters of the Green River since we spend quite a bit of time around it in Southern Utah. So we hopped on the pavement because we can. The Super Enduro is no doubt capable of chewing up pavement. In an hour we were in Dubois where we would leave the pavement again.We start climbing toward the continental divide.The roads were well maintained at this point.Here we are looking off to the west of the divide.We take a route that gets us off the beaten track a bit.This crossing was a bit deeper than the previous and A LOT more rocky but still childs play for the Super Enduro.Man, talk about nice riding!Forest fires are common around the west in the summer. This one had been burning for a few days. It was relatively small. The headwaters of the Green River are to the right of the smoke.This is the type of riding we live for.The Super Enduro is such a versatile bike. It swallows freeways to get you into this type of terrain. A 950cc dirt bike? Totally ridiculous……..We continue down these awesome trails toward the Green.The route improves a bit along the Green.Then we stumble onto this character. He’s been living on public land since 1987 he claimed. He had a small Yamaha road bike of some sort that he would haul inside his trailer when he moved locations. He’s been building his trailer along the way. Among numerous quotes that had us belly laughing, he stated we were in a ‘vagrants paradise’. Well said.